DCB Legal LTD for Smart Parking Limited - Court Claim Form

LurcherOwner

I have received a court claim form/pack today for charges issued back in 2020.



On two occasions I parked in a small car park and made a major keying error.

Probably not thinking quite right due to family events I keyed in the first letter of my numberplate, hit the second key that must have been a bit stuck and required more force as it didn't register. I saw I could pay and stupidly assumed there was some fancy ANPR going on that only needed enough to recognised the car that entered. I did this on another occasion 6 days later. 

Going by old advice online I refused the reduced rate of £40 for the two fines as I didn't know anything about the BPA code of practice rates and thought it was a strategy to extract money. I did not know the BPA code of practice was something that held recognition widely. I lost my POPLA appeals. I found out more about it, and the reasoning set out in the code of practice for the £20 charge, whilst I was making the appeals. I emailed an offer to pay the £40 saying it was not thoroughly explained and they refused.

Since then I've had Smart Parking send my details on to the various debt recovery firms over the years to send out hassling letters, not properly engage with my communication outside of what is clearly their protocol and then stop. They all add money onto the £100 fines. DCBL Legal is trying to claim £340. And interest. 

I edited a version of the template reply to the Letter of Claim from here and sent that. I could not remember being offered the reduced charge at this point and had not found any old documentation or emails at this point hence me saying I believed I had not. (I realise I have said fine and not charge! )

Claimant: Smart Parking Limited

<br>Dear Sir or Madam<br>I refer to your letter of claim.

<br>I confirm that my current address for service is as follows, provided there are no unnecessary delays in any claim.<br><br>[ADDRESS]<br><br>The alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.<br><br>I am sourcing and seeking independent debt advice and as such, I formally request that this matter be put on hold for an additional 30 days, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 ('the PAP').<br><br>I note that the amount being claimed has increased by a huge amount. An unreasonable £120 for two fines has been pushed up to £340. In 2022 the government described these practices as extortionate and pushed for the new code of practice.<br><br>I believe Smart Parking Limited and the following legal firms who have "taken on" the claim have not properly engaged with my dispute. It has now been so long I barely remember the details. It would be very helpful if you could share what details you can. And any of the evidence or information I have provided to Smart Parking Ltd and representatives if possible.<br><br>However I know I did pay for parking, I made a major keying error, in part to the inconsistent pressure needed to activate the keys on the payment machine.<br><br>I believe I was not offered the reduced fine for this major error, and certainly not with an explanation of the reasoning, in line with the Code of Practice of the time.<br><br>On top of this a vastly inflated claim for the amount of signage was made. The figure for the total amount of signs clearly included advertisements at the small car park, a visual clutter, and not just the few signs relating to the parking rules.<br><br>I strongly believe Smart Parking Limited and their representatives have been unreasonable and/or ignorant of my attempts to communicate and reason with them. &nbsp;<br><br>I have two questions, and under the PAP I am entitled to specific answers:<br><br>1. Am I to understand that the additional amount of "debt" represents what you claim is as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this net or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?<br><br>2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?<br><br>Yours faithfully<br><br>

 I received this email in reply:

<div class="Quote"><p>We write in response to your recent correspondence in response to our Letter of Claim (LOC) and will now respond as follows.</p><p>It is our position that the Letter of Claim (“LOC”) is compliant with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (“the Protocol”). The&nbsp;LOC&nbsp;provides adequate information for you to identify the debt that our Client is seeking to recover. We would respectfully draw your attention to paragraph 2.1(c) of the Protocol and remind you that both parties are expected to act reasonably and proportionately.</p><p>For the avoidance of doubt, please note that the timeframe in which to appeal the Parking Charge has expired. You were given the opportunity to lodge an appeal when the initial Notice was issued to you. Given that the case has been escalated to this firm for recovery action, the time to appeal has now elapsed and payment of the Parking Charge(s) is now required.</p><p>The amount owed is a genuine pre-estimate of the losses incurred in managing the parking location to ensure compliance with the clearly displayed terms and conditions. Further, in accordance with the British Parking Association (BPA)/International Parking Community (IPC) Code of Practice, where the Parking Charge becomes overdue and before Court proceedings have commenced, a reasonable sum may be added for the debt recovery fees. The correct recovery fees have been added and will not be removed, for completeness we would advise that the fee is not inclusive of any VAT, as it does not pertain to a supply of goods/services between you and our Client.</p><p>To clarify, when parking on private land, the contractual terms of the site are set out on the signs. You are thus entering into a contract (by way of conduct) and agreeing to the terms by parking and staying on the site. Parking in breach of the terms as stipulated on the signage means that you are then breaking the terms of the contract.</p><p>Attached are copies of evidence pertaining to the matter, however, if there are any documents that you have requested, but that are not attached, it is because we have deemed the request to be disproportionate and/or not relevant to the substantive issues in dispute. We respectfully draw your attention to paragraph 2.1(c) of the Protocol and remind you that both parties are expected to act reasonably and proportionately.</p><p>You now have&nbsp;<strong>30 days</strong>&nbsp;from the date of this email&nbsp;to make payment of the amount as per our Letter of Claim. Failure to make payment will result in a Claim being issued against you without any further reference.</p><p>Payment can be made via bank transfer to our designated client account: -</p><ul><li>Account Name: DCB Legal Ltd Client Account</li><li>Sort Code: 20-24-09</li><li>Account Number: 60964441</li></ul><p>You&nbsp;<strong>must&nbsp;</strong>quote the correct case reference (<b>[CASE REF]</b>) when making payment. If you do not, we may be unable to correctly allocate the payment. If further action is taken by us as a result of an incorrect reference being quoted, you will be liable for any further fees or costs incurred.</p><p>Alternatively, you can contact DCB Legal Ltd on 0203 838 7038 to make payment over the telephone or online at&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" href="https://dcblegal.co.uk/response/pay-online/">https://dcblegal.co.uk/response/pay-online/</a>.</p><p>Please note that in the absence of payment in the next 30 days, our position remains as previously advised. As such, should our client instruct us to proceed with further legal action, we reserve the right to do so without any further reference to you.</p><p><strong>If you are at all unsure of your legal position, we recommend that you seek your own independent legal advice</strong></p><div><p>Kind Regards,<span><u></u><u></u></span></p><p><span><u></u>&nbsp;<u></u></span></p><p><b><span>Charlotte Ireland<u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p><span>Litigation Support Associate<u></u><u></u></span></p><p>DCB Legal Ltd<br></p></div></div>I am going to use the template defence to fill out the MCOL form online. Anyone think there is a chance they wont take it to court and cancel like they appear to do a lot? I'm hoping they will drop it. 

Gr1pr

So its Smart Parking via DCB Legal,  issue date 28th October 2025, for insufficient paid time for 2 PCN's back in 2020, for £592

Definitely not fines, just 2 invoices from the private parking company,  for either 2 keying errors or some other errors, probably faulty machines

You left your VRM details on show above,  so not properly redacted 

Complete the AOS online on MCOL next Monday 3rd November,  then your deadline will be Monday 1st December 

LurcherOwner

Oops. The cars scrapped but I'll report the post again (already did for messed up formatting).

They claimed the machines are checked regularly and no faults found if I remember correctly. But I'm fairly sure one of the letter keys must have needed a much harder push than the rest for me to make the error.

Gr1pr

They would say that, wouldn't they, but it's well known that these machines have various faults and issues 

Start drafting your defence based on the template defence and by reading other recent Smart Parking DCB Legal cases over the last 2 months 

Aos needs doing next week,  not this week 

Le_Kirk

With an issue date of 28/10/25 and providing you complete the AoS after 02/11/25 and before 16/11/25 your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 01/12/25

Coupon-mad

LurcherOwner said:

I have received a court claim form/pack today for charges issued back in 2020.



On two occasions I parked in a small car park and made a major keying error. 

I am going to use the template defence to fill out the MCOL form online. Anyone think there is a chance they wont take it to court and cancel like they appear to do a lot? I'm hoping they will drop it. 

Le_Kirk said:

With an issue date of 28/10/25 and providing you complete the AoS after 02/11/25 and before 16/11/25 your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 01/12/25

Did you do the AOS now? Easy to defend! And yes, they'll discontinue in 2026.